Lean On Me
by Sparklles
Summary: Rikki & Zane are two very different people who know nothing about each other. However as Zanes interest in her grows and Rikkis secrets begin to unravel they become drawn to each other and Rikki learns that she may need Zane more then she'd like to admit
1. Chapter 1

**Summary:** Rikki Chadwick and Zane Bennett are two very different people who know nothing about each other. However as Zane's interest in her grows and Rikki's secrets begin to unravel they become drawn to each other and Rikki learns that she may need Zane more then she'd like to admit.

**This is an AU story (Alternate Universe) and the girls are not mermaids. I'm not sure if I'm gonna make them mermaids. We'll see =)**

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Rikki Chadwick groaned as she woke up to banging, and an angry voice yelling through her bedroom door.

"School. Get up now!" A mans voice yelled as he stopped pounding on the door.

Rikki sighed as she heard his footsteps walking away from her room. She slowly rolled out of bed and made her way towards her closet to get out the clothes she was gonna wear that day. After taking a shower and getting dressed she quickly tied her blond curly hair up in a ponytail and walked out of her bedroom into the kitchen where her father was.

"About time you finished getting ready. Now get to school before you're late again." He said in a annoyed tone without even taking a second to look at her. Rikki didn't reply she just rolled her eyes and grabbed her books before making her way out of the house to walk to school.

–

Rikki headed straight to class when she arrived at school. She didn't even know why she bothered to go to school. It wasn't as if anyone would notice if she wasn't there. Her dad probably wouldn't care either. She sighed as she sat down at the back of the room as other students began walking into the classroom and taking their seats. She really hated going to school. Her grades weren't that good, she figured they would be better if she actually tried but she didn't really see the point. Mostly though it was the people she hated. Ever since she had moved to town with her dad she had been known as the 'freaky new girl'. Rikki was broken out of her thoughts when someone sat down in the desk in front of her. She rolled her eyes seeing it was Zane Bennett in front of her. The last thing she wanted right now was to have to spend an entire class looking at the back of his head. She watched as Zane's girlfriend Miriam sat in the desk to the right of him and his friend Nate sat in front of him. As their teacher walked into the classroom and began talking to the class Rikki went to grab her notebook out of her bag but as she leaned down to get it her desk shook a little causing the pencil on her desk to roll onto the floor. As she finished pulling her notebook out of her bag she noticed Zane lean down and pick up the pencil.

"You dropped this." He said as he turned around to hand it to her.

"Thanks" She said as she took it from him. He simply nodded and turned back to his own desk.

–

Zane Bennett was sitting at lunch with his friends Nate, Miriam and Tiffany, annoyed at the pointless conversation he was listening to Miriam and Tiffany have. He looked around at other tables and his eyes stopped when he saw Rikki sitting alone. He wondered why she was always by herself but he shrugged it off figuring she just preferred that. He thought back to this morning when he briefly talked to her when he gave her back her pencil. That was the first time he had actually talked to her. He had wanted to talk to her before but she never seemed interested in talking to him, or anyone for that matter. Something about her always seemed to interest him though. From the first time he saw her he knew she was different from all the other girls in school. At the same time something about her was off too. When he looked at her something about the look in her eyes seemed to grasp his attention. There was sadness and loneliness in them. It seemed almost as if there was fear there too but he couldn't understand why.

"Zane!" he jumped and was broken out of his thoughts when Miriam yelled trying to get his attention.

"What?" He asked turning his gaze onto her.

"What were you staring at?" She asked him looking around confused.

"Nothing." Zane replied and Miriam shrugged. Zane sighed and looked back over to where Rikki was sitting but when he did she wasn't there anymore.

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**So this was just the first chapter. So don't worry the plot will start kicking in and there will be plenty of Zikki to look forward to! :) Review please.**


	2. Chapter 2

Rikki let out a sigh as she made her way out of the school building. She was in a hurry to get home. Her dad wanted her to clean the house for him, and the last thing she needed was to make him mad by being late. As she walked out of the building she collided with another person. She dropped her bag and almost fell back but a pair of hands grabbed her arms and held her up. Once she regained her balance she looked up to see Zane.

"Sorry." She said, while pulling out of his grasp. She turned to leave but she tripped over her bag, which was still on the ground, and fell towards Zane. He caught her and she quickly pulled herself away from him again. "Sorry" She apologized again. She was about to bend down to pick up her bag but he beat her to it.

"It's alright." He told her as he handed her the bag. As she reached out to take it Zane noticed a bruise on her wrist. He frowned. "Are you alright?" He asked. Rikki looked up at him confused.

"Why wouldn't I be?" She asked a bit defensively. He nodded his head towards her wrist. Rikki looked down and realized what he was looking at. She quickly pulled her hand behind her back and nodded. "I'm fine." She told him. "I have to go." She turned to walk away but Zane walked after her.

"Are you sure? That looks pretty bad." He told her.

"Yeah." She lied. "I fell. It's not a big deal."

"You fell on your wrist?" He asked suspiciously. Rikki sighed, she was getting annoyed.

"It happens." She told him as she stopped walking and turned to face him. "Why do you even care anyway?" She asked and Zane shrugged.

"I was just curious.." He told her. He didn't even really know why he cared himself, he just felt the need to ask for some reason. Rikki rolled her eyes and turned to start walking again.

"Well next time try minding your own business." She told him. Zane watched her walk off, this time not bothering to go after her.

"Hey!" A voice coming from behind Zane said. Zane turned around to find Miriam standing there. "What were you doing talking to her?" Miriam asked, looking over Zane's shoulder at Rikki.

"Nothing." Zane told her. "I just bumped into her."

"Well be careful who you bump into for now on." Miriam warned him. "Freak could be contagious." She laughed, and Zane rolled his eyes at what Miriam thought was a 'clever' joke.

"Whatever." He stated before turning and walking away from her.

* * *

Rikki finished cleaning around six o clock. She looked at the clock. She figured her dad wouldn't be back for a couple hours. He left a little after she came home. She didn't know where he went but he normally never came back home till it was late, so she decided to go for a walk. She walked outside and made her way towards the beach that was close to the trailer park she lived in. She loved walking on the beach. It made her feel relaxed and peaceful, almost as if the water could wash all her problems away. Rikki was lost in thought, she didn't notice somebody walking in front of her and she bumped into him. She fell forward, causing the other person to fall back on to the ground and her to land on top of him.

"If you're gonna keep bumping into me like this perhaps a little warning would be nice." Rikki looked up to see she had bumped into Zane again. She quickly rolled off of him and he sat up. He looked over at Rikki, who was still lying on the sand. "Are you alright?" He checked, ignoring his own pain he felt in his back from hitting the ground. Rikki nodded. Zane stood up and offered his hand to help her up but she didn't even acknowledge it. Instead she remained lying in the sand. Zane frowned. "Are you sure you're ok?" He asked. Rikki nodded again.

"Yeah. I was just thinking..." She trailed off and sat up. Zane sat back down next to her.

"About what?" He asked curiously. Rikki looked at him, suddenly angry.

"Didn't I tell you earlier to mind your own business?" she asked him. Zane rolled his eyes at her defensive attitude and response to a simple question

"Sorry." He said in an annoyed tone. He stood back up and walked away, wondering why he even bothered to care. Rikki watched him go before standing up and walking in the opposite direction of him.


	3. Chapter 3

"Great." Rikki whispered to herself. Her dad's bike was parked back outside their house again which meant he had come back home before she had managed to get back. Which meant she would probably be in trouble for leaving. Rikki made her way into the house quietly, hoping he wouldn't hear her. She made her way to her bedroom, but when she walked in she found her dad sitting on her bed.

"Where exactly have you been?" Terry Chadwick asked his daughter angrily. Rikki flinched slightly at the tone of his voice. "Well?" He asked when she hesitated to respond.

"I-I was just taking a walk." She stuttered. Terry stood up and walked towards Rikki. "I'm sorry." She said quietly, to which Terry laughed at.

"You will be sorry." He threatened her. Rikki looked down at her feet, trying to avoid the hateful glare in his eyes. All of a sudden he grabbed her left arm roughly and shoved her to the ground, out of the way of the doorway, and walked out of her room, slamming the door behind him. Rikki felt tears prick her eyes as she looked down at her arm where he grabbed her and noticed that a bruise was already beginning to form. She looked back at the door, hoping he wouldn't come back through it anytime soon to follow through on his threat to make her be sorry.

* * *

At school the next day Zane was sitting at lunch alone debating with himself whether or not he should bother to try and talk to Rikki again. He didn't understand why he wanted to. He never bothered trying before and he probably wouldn't have talked to her yesterday if she hadn't crashed into him, twice. He saw her walk over to a table and sit down. He noticed she was wearing a long sleeve jacket, which struck him as odd considering it was about 90 degrees outside. Zane thought back to yesterday when he noticed the bruise on her wrist from when she apparently 'fell' and wondered if that had anything to do with the sleeves. Perhaps he shouldn't have commented on it, he thought. Still though, he didn't believe she got that bruise from falling. It seemed too big to be from a fall. And the way she reacted when he pointed it out, almost scared, had him curious about it.

"Why don't you just put a sign on your head that says 'I'm obsessed with Rikki Chadwick'" Somebody asked, as they sat down next to Zane. Zane turned his head to find Nate now sitting next to him.

"I'm not obsessed with her" He said in an aggravated tone.

"You're not? Could have fooled me. You were staring at the girl like she had you in a trance or something." Nate told him mockingly. Zane sighed.

"I wasn't staring at her. I was just thinking. I wasn't looking at anything in particular." He lied and Nate shrugged it off.

"If you say so." Nate said. Out of the corner of his eye Zane saw Rikki stand up and begin to walk away. Without realizing what he was doing, he quickly shot up out of his seat and began to follow after her. He followed her down the hall without her knowing. He stopped once she turned and went into the girls bathroom. He turned back around and began to walk away again but stopped when he heard a noise that sounded like a sob coming from behind the closed bathroom door. He listened closer and realized someone was crying, though he couldn't make out if it was Rikki or someone else. He knocked on the door but nobody came out. He cracked the door open a little bit, though not enough so he would be visible to anybody inside. The last thing he needed was a bunch of angry girls screaming at him for being in the girls bathroom. Once the door was cracked open he could hear her sobs echoing through the room.

"Rikki?" He asked. Once he did she immediately stopped crying. Zane pushed the door open a little more and noticed that nobody else was inside, so hesitantly he decided to walk inside. "Rikki?" He asked again. He could see her feet at the bottom of one of the stalls so he knocked on it. "Are you alright?" He asked. Rikki wiped at her eyes, trying to get rid of any tears.

"What are you doing in here?" Rikki choked out trying to sound angry, though her voice just sounded exhausted.

"I heard you crying.." He told her. Rikki opened the door and Zane saw her eyes were red and puffy.

"Just go away, Zane." She told him, pushing past him and walking over to the sink.

"Why were you crying?" He asked, concerned. Rikki ignored him. She turned the sink on and splashed some water on her face, trying to make it less noticeable that she was crying. "You know sometimes talking helps." He told her. Rikki turned back around to face him.

"And sometimes it doesn't."

"Are you sure? You can tell me.." He told her and she scoffed.

"Why can I tell you? After talking to you for all of two seconds yesterday? Are we suddenly best friends? You don't care so don't pretend to." She told him, managing to sound a little more angry, although she still sounded more exhausted then angry.

"You're right. You have no reason to want to tell me." He told her and Rikki nodded, figuring he'd let it go and leave now. However, that thought went away when he started talking again. "But the way I see it is you have two options here. One, you could sit here by yourself in a bathroom crying for the next two hours of school, or two, you could actually have someone try and help to make you feel better."

"And why would you wanna make me feel better?" She asked and Zane shrugged, not knowing the answer to that himself.

"I just do.." He told her honestly. Rikki felt tears begin to prick her eyes again and she tried to blink them away.

"Please go away." She said quietly, as tears began to fall from her eyes. Zane took a couple of steps closer to her. She looked away from him when he brought his hand up to her face and gently wiped away a tear from underneath her eye. She started to cry harder and without giving it a thought Zane wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close to him. After a few minutes of crying into his chest Rikki pulled away from him blushing in embarrassment. "Sorry.." She told him, looking down at the ground.

"It's alright." Zane assured her, though he wasn't quite sure why she was apologizing. "Do you wanna talk?" He asked her and Rikki shrugged. "Why were you crying?" He asked again.

"I just..." Rikki paused trying to think of some lie to tell him. She was having trouble thinking straight at the moment though. She jumped slightly when she heard someone begin to open the door. Zane walked over and pushed it closed again, not allowing anybody else to come in.

"Hey! I have to use the bathroom." Some girl yelled through the door.

"Use a different one." Zane yelled back. They could hear the girl groan and mumble something about Zane being a boy in the girls bathroom, as she walked away. Zane turned back to Rikki, keeping his back against the door. "What were you about to say?" Zane asked, focusing his attention on her. Rikki shook her head.

"Uh...Nothing. It doesn't matter. We should get back to class..." She said walking over to the door. Zane stared at her confused as she tried to push him away from the door.

"What do you mean it doesn't matter? You were crying, something clearly had you upset."

"Well I don't wanna talk about it." She told him, getting back to her normally defensive tone of voice. "Move out of the way." She told him. Zane sighed and did as she said. Rikki opened the door and walked out. Zane walked out after her.

"Hey." He called after her. She stopped walking and turned around, waiting for him to speak again. "If you change your mind... If you wanna talk, I'm here." He told her. Rikki didn't say anything back. She just nodded and turned to walk away again.


	4. Chapter 4

Zane decided to try and catch up to Rikki after school. He figured that maybe he could get her to talk to him now that she had time to cool off. He waited outside the school for her to come out. Finally she did and he walked up to her. "Rikki." He called after her. Rikki turned to him at the sound of her name.

"What do you want now, Zane?" She asked him, slightly annoyed.

"I just wanted to make sure you were ok." He told her. She shrugged.

"I'm fine." She lied.

"Are you sure?" He asked, and Rikki sighed in frustration.

"Yes I'm sure. Can't you just let it go and leave me alone?"

"I'm Sorry." He told her. "I just figured you might wanna talk about it." Rikki rolled her eyes at that.

"There's nothing to talk about!" She told him, raising her voice.

"Why were you crying then?" He asked her and instead of answering Rikki turned to walk away. Wanting her to stay and talk to him, Zane grabbed her arm to stop her from walking away. "No, come on Rikki just-" He stopped and frowned when he saw her wince in pain from where he was holding her arm. He instantly let go. "What's wrong?" He asked, staring at her sleeve covered arm.

"Nothing." She stated, as she unconsciously rubbed her arm. Zane took notice to this.

"I just...I hardly touched you, what happened?" He asked, and Rikki realized she was rubbing her arm, and immediately stopped.

"Nothing!" She yelled at him, sounding more nervous then angry. "I told you, let it go. It doesn't matter." She turned to walk away again.

"Rikki-" He started, but she cut him off when she spun around to face him again.

"No!" She yelled. "I have, I have to go." She stuttered out, and with that she turned and ran off away from him.

"Rikki!" Zane called after her, but by that time she was already out of sight. He stood there trying to comprehend what had just happened.

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**AN: **OK I realize this chapter is insanely short, and I apologize for that. I'll have the next one up soon =) reviews would be nice ;)


	5. Chapter 5

After leaving Zane, Rikki ran all the way home, she hadn't bothered to stop at all on her way home, not even to catch her breath. She just wanted to get away from Zane, and was grateful that he hadn't followed her. Rikki suddenly regretted coming home when she walked inside her house and was greeted by her father, who was sitting on the couch. He stood up when he noticed her come inside. She immediately took notice to the fact that he was drunk. If the way he was wobbling towards her didn't give it away, the overbearing smell of alcohol all over him sure did. With every step he took towards her, she took two backwards until she was trapped against the wall. He got close to her and Rikki closed her eyes in fear. Her father was mean enough when he was sober, but when he was drunk he was unpredictable. Scarier, if that was possible. He grabbed her by her hair and pulled her towards him. Rikki gasped in pain at his actions. She opened her eyes and found her face was within inches away from his. He just stood there glaring at her for a few seconds, before pulling her head back away from his again and slamming it against the wall behind her. Rikki screamed in pain and fell to the floor. Tear began to spill from her eyes as her father stood over her. She sat up and clutched the back of her head and felt that she was bleeding. She looked up at him terrified.

"Please stop." She begged him. He just laughed at her. He brought his foot back and then kicked her hard in the stomach, causing her to fall back down onto her side.

"I told you, you'd be sorry for leaving this house yesterday." He yelled at her. He kicked her again and Rikki clutched her stomach. More tears kept falling from Rikki's eyes uncontrollably, as sobs racked her body. Satisfied with himself, Terry walked off. Rikki heard the door slam and felt a slight bit of relief wash over her knowing he would be gone for now. She hesitantly took her hands off of her stomach and used them as support to try and stand up. She immediately regretted it though. As she tried to sit up, dizziness overtook her and she collapsed back down onto the ground. Her vision began to blur and the room seemed to be spinning. Soon her vision went completely away as she passed out.

Rikki awoken, to find that she was now in her own bed. She figured her father must have come back and put her in bed. She tried to sit up, but the pain in her stomach stopped her. She lifted up her shirt to reveal a very large purple bruise covering most of her stomach. She sighed and pulled her shirt back down. She winced as she continued to try and sit up very slowly. Once she managed to do so, she felt the back of her head and was relieved to find that she didn't seem to be bleeding anymore. However she could still feel a big cut, and her hair felt all hard and sticky, due to being covered in now dried blood. She looked over at the clock and realized she had only been asleep for about four hours. Using all of her strength Rikki managed to stand up. She nervously made her way out of her room, praying that her father wouldn't be home, or that he'd at least be sleeping. She looked around the house and sighed in relief when there was no sign of him. She debated with herself whether or not she should leave the house right now. She didn't wanna stay there right now but she didn't wanna get in trouble for leaving again. Deciding she wanted to get away for a couple hours, at least, she left the house and made her way to the beach. She sat down on a slightly secluded spot of the beach and bent her legs, bringing her knees up to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She closed her eyes and listened to the waves crashing onto the shore. She felt tears begin to prick her eyes again but she closed them tighter, trying not to allow them to fall.

"Rikki?" a voice asked as footsteps approached her. Rikki groaned inwardly. Zane again. Why couldn't he leave her alone? She asked herself. Rikki opened her eyes to see Zane begin to sit down next to her. When she opened her eyes Zane noticed how watery they were. "Are you alright?" He asked. Rikki looked down at her knees.

"No." She let out weakly, feeling to exhausted to deny anything right now.

"What's wrong?" He asked. Rikki leaned forward and rested her head on her knees. However when she did so, Zane's eyes widened as he noticed the large cut on the back of her head, and all the dried blood surrounding it. "What happened to your head?" He asked alarmed. Rikki's head shot back up at that and she touched the back of her head, trying to put more of her hair over the cut, which she realized was pretty useless considering her hair was covered in blood too.

"I fell." She lied. Her eyes became more watery and a single tear fell from one of her eyes. Zane stared at her curiously, and Rikki turned her head away from him.

"Hey.." He tapped on her shoulder and she turned back to look at him.

"I don't wanna talk." Rikki told him, before he could say anything else. Zane nodded.

"Okay. You don't have to talk to me." He agreed. "You should probably get that cleaned up though." He said pointing to her head. Rikki nodded. "Why don't we get out of here? I could take you home, and help you with your-" He was cut off by Rikki shaking her head vigorously all of a sudden.

"No-no I, I don't...I don't wanna go home. Not now." She told him, stumbling over her words.

"Okay..." He said, confused by her sudden nervousness. "Are you sure you don't wanna talk?" He asked again. Rikki felt tears threaten to spill out of her eyes and turned away from him.

"I just wanna be alone." She told him. Forgetting about her bruises, she quickly stood up. When she did she winced in pain. She clutched her stomach and almost fell over, but Zane stood up quickly when he saw this and held her up. He stared at her stomach, where she was clutching it. Ignoring her protests, he lifted up her shirt a little over her stomach. His eyes once again widened in shock as he saw the giant bruise on her stomach. Rikki finally broke down into tears when he saw it. Zane pulled Rikki into his arms as she cried. When she started to calm down a little bit Zane pulled away from her.

"What happened?" Zane asked her. Rikki looked down at their feet.

"Nothing." She said. Zane was about to say something but she started to talk again. "I-It was my fault." She told him. Zane frowned.

"How was this your fault?" He asked confused.

"I left. I wasn't supposed to leave." She began talking really fast and rambling things about leaving her house and being sorry. Zane didn't really understand half of what she was saying, it was beginning to sound like gibberish.

"Rikki slow down!" He told her. She stopped talking. "What do you mean you weren't supposed to leave? What does that have to do with you being hurt right now?" He asked her. She started to cry again.

"Because he was mad that I left. I shouldn't have left. It's my fault." She told him between sobs. Zane stared at her, realization dawning on him. Somebody did this to her. Zane felt anger wash over him all of a sudden.

"Who is _he_" He asked. Rikki didn't say anything. "Rikki, who hurt you?" He asked again, a little more aggressively then he intended.

"My dad." She said quiet and sadly. Zane stared at her in disbelief. How could somebody do this to their own child?

"He hits you?" He asked, wanting to make sure he heard her right. Rikki nodded.

"It's my fault though!" She said, trying to defend her father.

"It's not your fault." He assured her but Rikki shook her head.

"Yes it is." She told him. Zane just stared at her as she explained to him why this was apparently 'her fault'. "I do things and he gets angry. I deserve this, I shouldn't have left yesterday."

"Rikki. Nothing you've done can justify him hurting you." He told her, trying to knock some sense into her. Rikki let some more tears fall.

"But he told me. He told me it's my fault." She choked out. She broke down crying once again and collapsed to the ground. Zane stared at the broken girl in front of him, not knowing what to do. All he wanted to do right now was make it better but he had no idea where to even begin to do that. He crouched down next to her and rubbed her back soothingly.

"This isn't your fault" He told her again. Rikki didn't respond, she just kept crying.

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_To Be Continued._ Reviews would be quite lovely! ;)


	6. Chapter 6

Rikki felt weak and exhausted after crying for what felt like hours to her. She took several deep breaths as she began to calm down a bit. She looked up to find Zane still sitting beside her. He had his arm draped around her shoulder and she leaned closer to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm tired." She told him quietly. Zane looked at her.

"Alright. I'll take you to my house, you can sleep there." He told her, but Rikki shook her head.

"No. I have to go home." She said, sitting up to turn and face him. Zane frowned, and stared at her in disbelief.

"You're not going back there." He told her. Rikki looked down at the ground.

"I-I have too. He's gonna be mad. I'm not supposed to leave the house." She stuttered out nervously.

"The only thing you _have_ to do is get away from that man." He told her, getting angry that she was considering going back there.

"No. He...He needs me there. He doesn't have anybody else." Rikki told him, though it sounded like she was more trying to convince herself. Zane sighed in aggravation.

"And who do you have? In that house? When he's beating you to death?" Zane's voice began to raise with anger towards her father as he spoke, causing Rikki's eyes to fill back up with tears. "I'm sorry" He told her sincerely, softening his tone. "I shouldn't have said it like that, but you can't go back there, Rikki."

"I shouldn't have said anything to you." Rikki stood up, once again forgetting about the bruises on her stomach and consequently flinching in pain. Zane stood up to catch her but she didn't loose her balance this time.

"Rikki, you need help. It's better that you told someone." He told her. Rikki wiped at her eyes.

"Why? Why should I trust you anymore then I should trust him? I don't even know you." She yelled at him.

"I wouldn't hurt you."

"Yeah. He says that too." She told him sadly.

"Not everyone is like that"

"I can't just not go home. He'll come looking for me either way and I'll just be back there anyway." She told him. Zane pulled her back into his arms as she began to cry again.

"No you won't" He promised her. "Just come with me and we'll get your cut cleaned up." He told her, referring to the gash in the back of her head. He pulled away from her to look at her.

"He'll hurt you too if you try to stop him." Rikki informed him. Zane sighed.

"Come on." He said, not replying to her comment. He motioned for her to follow him. Hesitantly, Rikki agreed and they began walking in the direction of his house.

* * *

"You have too much hair." Zane commented, trying to move Rikki's, now bloodless, hair out of the way so he could bandage up the cut on the back of her head. "There" He said as he finished. Rikki, reached back and tried to cover the bandage over with her hair as best she could.

"Thank you." She said, in a depressed tone. Zane nodded.

"No problem." He told her. "Do you want anything?" He asked, and Rikki just shook her head weakly. She was sitting at the kitchen table staring at her hands. Zane looked away from Rikki when he heard his father coming in through the front door. "I'll be right back." He told her. Rikki didn't respond to him. She just continued staring at her hands as though she were in some sort of a trance. Zane left the kitchen and went to go greet his father at the door. "Dad." he said once he reached him. His father, Harrison Bennett, turned towards Zane. "I need to talk to you." Zane said, before his father could say anything.

"About what?" Harrison asked, trying to walk into the kitchen, but Zane blocked his way. "What are you doing?" Harrison asked annoyed.

"I need to talk to you before you go in there." Zane said, Harrison sighed.

"Why?"

"There's a girl in the kitchen." Zane stated, and his father raised his eyebrows.

"Is Miriam here? I told you I don't like you having girls over here when I'm not here, and now-"

"It's not Miriam." Zane said, cutting him off. Harrison sighed once again and moved past Zane to get into the kitchen. Rikki looked up at Harrison and Zane once they entered the kitchen. Harrison stared at her in confusion.

"What is going on here?" He asked turning to face his son. "Who is this?"

"This is Rikki." Zane stated. "Which is what I need to talk to you about." Zane said, motioning him out of the room.

"What is going on, Zane?" Harrison asked once they were out of the kitchen again.

"I kinda told her she could stay here." Zane told him, getting straight to the point. Harrison's eyes widened in shock.

"Are you kidding me? Absolutely not." He told him angrily. "Why would you tell her something like that. I don't even know who this girl is, I've never heard you mention her before." Harrison lectured him.

"I know!" Zane said cutting him off. "She has no where else to go."

"No where else? How about with her parents. Do they even know about this?" Harrison asked.

"That's the problem, dad." Zane told him. Not getting the point, Harrison waited for Zane to continue. "Her dad hits her." He told him, taking Harrison by surprise. He looked into the kitchen at Rikki, she was still just sitting there staring at her hands, practically motionless. He turned his attention back to Zane.

"How do you know this?"

"Well she told me." Zane stated and Harrison rolled his eyes.

"That's it? Do you even know this girl? She could be lying to you." He said accusingly. Zane groaned in frustration.

"And she has a giant gash in the back of her head, and a huge bruise across her entire stomach. She's scared to death." Zane told him. Harrison could hear the concern in his sons voice.

"What about her mom?" He asked. Zane hadn't even thought about that.

"I don't know...I don't think she lives with them." He told him. Harrison sighed.

"Fine." He said, giving in. Zane smiled.

"So she can stay?" He asked, hopefully. Harrison nodded.

"Only until we can find out if she could go live with her mother or another relative...This isn't permanent." He told him, and Zane nodded in agreement.

* * *

**An:**HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! And late Merry Christmas/Hanukkah/Quanzah (unsure how to spell that and spell check isn't helping sorry.)/whatever other December holidays there are that you may or may not celebrate. Anyway, I apologize. I intended to get this chapter up sooner but I've been kinda sick lately and didn't feel up to writing very much.. Anyway I'll have the next chapter up as soon as I can. Review & again Happy New Year! 2010!


	7. Chapter 7

Rikki sat on the bed of the guest bedroom in Zane's house. Her bedroom now. She was staring at her cellphone. She had fifteen missed calls, all from the same person. Her father. She jumped slightly, at the sudden sound of a knock on the door. She put her phone down on the bed next to her and looked up at the closed door.

"Come in." She called through it. The door opened and Zane walked in, with clothes in his hand.

"Hey." He said as he walked further into the room. "I uh...I have a shirt, and sweat pants for you to sleep in. More comfortably." He told her, placing the clothes down on the bed.

"Thank you." She replied quietly.

"No problem." he told her. They remained in a somewhat awkward silence for a few minutes until Rikki finally broke it.

"You told him didn't you?" She asked. Zane looked at her confused so Rikki decided to elaborate. "You're dad. That's why he's letting me stay here." She asked, though she formed it as a statement not a question.

"I kinda had to." He explained.

"I don't want anyone else to know about this." She told him and Zane nodded in agreement.

"Nobody needs to know about it. You're safe now so that's all that matters." He told her. Rikki's phone rang, and Zane noticed her fathers name flash across the screen. Rikki hesitantly began to answer but Zane grabbed the phone before she could. Once it stopped ringing he saw how many missed calls she had.

"You weren't gonna answer him were you?" He asked concerned. Rikki shrugged.

"He just keeps calling." She told him. Zane sighed.

"Rikki, you can't answer him. If you do he'll just try to manipulate you some more."

"Maybe not! Maybe he's worried because I haven't come home. Maybe he wants to know that I'm okay." She told him, hopefully. Zane sat down on the bed next to her. "Maybe he wants to change." She said, her eyes beginning to fill up with tears.

"Rikki, he's not-"

"Why doesn't he care about me?" She asked, her voice cracking. Tears began to spill from her eyes but she quickly wiped them away. Zane stared at her as she tried to blink away the rest of the tears that threatened to fall. He felt so bad for her. He just wished he could take all the pain away.

"Where's your mom?" Zane asked suddenly. Rikki looked away from him at that question.

"I don't know..." She said trailing off.

"Don't you talk to her?"

"She left. I don't know where she is." She told him sadly.

"She didn't tell you where she was going?" He asked curiously. Rikki scoffed.

"She didn't even tell me she was leaving. I just woke up one morning and she was gone." She explained, with a mixture of sadness and resentment in her voice.

"She didn't tell you?" He asked. She shook her head.

"She tried to sneak out in the middle of the night. My dad woke up and she told him she was leaving. He told me the next morning. I guess she just couldn't take it anymore. They were always fighting."

"Did he hit her?" He asked hesitantly. Rikki shrugged her shoulders.

"If he did I never knew about it. He never hit me until after she left." She looked down at her lap, trying to avoid seeing the look of pity that she was sure was spread across Zane's face right now. "Thinking about the way she acted now, he probably did hit her." She told him.

"What do you mean?" Zane asked, confused.

"When he was mad he never did anything back then, just yelled and threw things. But she'd always shield and protect me. Like she knew he could be so abusive." She explained, finally looking back at him. "She never let anything bad happen to me. I don't understand why she just left me with him." She said quietly, more to herself then to Zane. Zane didn't understand why her mother would have just left her with her father either, though one possible explanation did cross his mind. "I guess she just stopped caring" Rikki whispered to herself sadly.

"I'm sure that's not the reason." He said, trying to comfort her. Her phone rang again, once again her fathers name flashed across the screen. Rikki stared at the phone. She picked it up and Zane worried she was about to answer. However instead she shut the phone off and put it back down. A small smile formed on Zane's lips, seeing this as some kind of progress. "You're probably tired, you should probably get some sleep." He suggested, figuring Rikki wasn't in the mood to answer anymore questions right now. Rikki nodded. "I'll just.." He said, finishing his sentence by pointing to the door, indicating that he was leaving. He stood up and began to walk towards the door but the sound of Rikki's voice stopped him.

"Zane..." She called after him. He turned around and stared at her, waiting for her to say something. Rikki looked away from him, feeling embarrassed at what she was about to ask.

"You okay?" He asked, after she didn't say anything.

"I just..." She paused, feeling her cheeks heat up. "Could you stay with me? Just for the night?" She asked, feeling uncharacteristically shy. Zane just looked at her, unsure of how to respond to that. "I've just never stood away from my house before..." she told him, feeling even more embarrassed. Zane just nodded.

"Okay."

* * *

Sorry for this chapter being so short. But I'm working on the next one as we speak! Well actually we're not really speaking...as you read this. Yeah that works? Anyway review please. =)


	8. Chapter 8

Zane woke up to the feeling of another body against his. He opened his eyes and looked down to see Rikki's head rested on his chest. She had been tossing around a lot last night. Zane figured she must have shifted close to him in her sleep. Seeing that she was still sleeping he gently lifted her off of him but the sudden movement caused her to stir and wake up. Rikki sat up slowly and looked at Zane.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up." He apologized, standing up.

"It's okay." She replied, staring at her cellphone on the nightstand. She picked it up and turned it back on. Zane watched her actions, not saying anything. Once the phone was turned on she noticed her father had called many more times. Noticing she had several messages, she called her voice mail, only to be greeted by the angry sound of her fathers voice. Zane could hear the yelling from where he was standing. Not being able to take the scared and depressed look on Rikki's face anymore, he took the phone out of her hand and hung it up.

"It's not gonna help you to listen to that." He told her softly. Rikki just nodded. "I've gotta get ready for school. I figured you'd just wanna stay home." He told her.

"This isn't my home." Rikki stated, slightly defensively. "I don't have a home." She said quietly, more to herself.

"Are you gonna be okay here by yourself?" He asked, not sure how to respond to her statements. Rikki nodded again. Zane was unsure of whether or not he should leave her alone but figured it would be alright. As Rikki laid back down to fall back asleep, Zane made his way out of the room and down the hall into his own room.

Once dressed, and ready for school, Zane walked downstairs, to find his father waiting for him in the kitchen. Harrison stared at Zane expectantly.

"What?" Zane asked. Harrison sighed.

"I told you that girl could stay here, I do not however recall telling you, you could spend the entire night alone with her in a bedroom." Harrison lectured his son. Zane rolled his eyes

"You think we did something?"

"Did you?" His father asked, unsure.

"No." Zane stated. "She didn't wanna stay alone, that's it. We slept." He explained, though his father still seemed a bit unsure. "_Slept_." Zane assured him once again. Not wanting to argue about it Harrison decided to take Zane's word for it.

"Did you ask her about her mother?"

"She doesn't know where she is." He responded.

"What do you mean she doesn't know?"

"Rikki says she left when she was younger. I'm not so sure though..." He trailed off.

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's just..." He paused, not sure how to word his suspicions. "She was talking about her mom and it sounded like her mom knew what kind of a person her father was, and that she really loved Rikki...I don't think she would have just left."

"Parents abandon their kids all the time Zane. It's horrible but it does happen." Harrison told him, not sure what Zane was getting at.

"I know that. I just don't think that was the case." Zane told him.

"Well what else could it be?" He asked. Noticing the look on Zane's face he realized what he was thinking. "You think he killed her?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It crossed my mind." He stated, with a bit of anger in his voice.

"Zane-" Harrison started but Zane cut him off.

"Look, I know I'm probably jumping to conclusions, but seeing what he did to Rikki, I just don't think there's much that man is incapable of."

"Look Zane, I don't want you getting in over your head for some girl you hardly know. Just let it go." His dad warned him. Zane shook his head in protest.

"How do I just let it go? She thinks her mother abandoned her." He argued.

"And for all you know she did!" Harrison argued back. "Just find her a family member she can stay with safely, and then I want you to let it go." He ordered. "Understand?" He asked, Zane sighed in annoyance.

"Whatever, I have to go to school." He told him, beginning to leave the kitchen.

"Speaking of school, why isn't she going with you?" Harrison asked. Zane turned back to his father.

"I thought it would be better if she stayed here. With her head cut open and all." He explained.

"And you believe you can trust her here alone?"

"What do you think she's gonna do? Rob us? She's harmless." Zane assured him. Harrison was still unsure whether to trust her or not, however.

"Yeah. I'm sure people have said that about her father too." He commented, causing Zane to grow angry.

"Don't compare her to him!" Zane yelled at him. With that he made his way back out of the kitchen and out of the house.

* * *

Rikki awoke to the sound of her phone ringing. Groaning in annoyance at the sound disrupting her sleep, she reached over and picked it up, not thinking much about it.

"Hello?" She groggily spoke into it.

"Where the hell are you?" Rikki suddenly shot straight up at the angry sound of her fathers voice, yelling at her.

"Dad...I uh-"

"Where are you?" He asked again, impatiently. "Where exactly do you get off not coming home all night?"

"I just stayed at a friends house." She explained to him.

"And you all of a sudden think you can stay wherever you want without telling me?" He asked her angrily. Rikki frowned, knowing she was in a lot of trouble.

"He just thought-"

"He." Terry repeated, cutting her off. "So that's why you didn't come home? You were out whoring around with some boy?"

"I wasn't-" She began to explain, but was cut off by the sound of him scoffing at her.

"I should have figured. Why else would someone wanna be friends with you? Suppose that's all you're good for." Rikki felt tears prick her eyes, at his words.

"I'm sorry." She apologized, not bothering to deny anything he was telling her. "I'll come home." She told him, as the tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Hurry up." He demanded, and Rikki quickly hung up the phone, not wanting him to hear her cry. She didn't want him to know how much his words were hurting her. Rikki debated with herself on whether or not she should go back home. She glanced over at the clock on the nightstand next to her bed. 1:30 Pm it read. Zane would be back from school in about a hour. She knew that if she stood there her father would find her eventually. She'd be in even more trouble if it came to that. He'd probably end up hurting Zane and his father too for letting her stay with them. Not wanting that to happen, Rikki decided it would be best if she left before Zane got back from school. She quickly got dressed in the clothes she had been wearing the day before and made her way out of the house.

* * *

Zane knocked on the door of the guest bedroom Rikki was staying in, once he arrived home from school. When she didn't answer after a few knocks he decided to just go in. He walked into the room to find it empty. "Rikki?" he called down the hall. Nobody answered. She hadn't been downstairs when he had gotten home. He walked over to the bathroom door and knocked on it. "Rikki?" He called through it. No answer, again.

* * *

Rikki arrived home almost two hours after she had left Zane's house. She had still felt weak from the pain in her stomach, so it had taken her longer then usual to get home. She knew her father would be angry that it took her so long to get home. "Dad?" She called out as she walked into the house.

"It's about time you got home." Her father told her angrily, as he walked over to her. Rikki was shaking, knowing how much trouble she was about to be in.

"I'm sorry" she apologized, causing Terry to slap her across the face, at that.

* * *

After looking throughout the rest of the house with no luck of finding Rikki, Zane realized that she must have left. Worried that she had gone back home he quickly made his way out of the house. He began walking towards the beach where he had found her the day before. He didn't know where she lived but seeing as that was the second time he had ran into her on that beach he assumed she might have lived somewhere close by.

* * *

**Ooh cliffhanger. What will happen. Hmmm...**

**Authors Note:**I am SOOO sorry it took me so long to get this chapter up. I get caught up with stuff and forget sometimes. I am gonna try SO MUCH HARDER to get these chapters up quicker. Again I apologize.


	9. Chapter 9

Rikki brought her hand up to her stinging cheek. "I'm sorry." She said again. Terry glared at her.

"Do you think I care if you're sorry?" He asked, mockingly. Rikki shook her head in response. "Who the hell is this boy you were out with all night?"

"He-he's nobody." She stuttered out, causing her father to slap her across the face once again.

"Who is he?" He yelled.

"He's just a boy I go to school with." She tried to explained.

"I don't send you to that school so you can act like a slut." He yelled at her. Rikki felt herself begin to shake, at his anger.

"I wasn't...I, I was-" She stuttered. Terry groaned in annoyance with her stuttering.

"You weren't? You expect me to believe that?"

"He wanted me to be safe." She told him.

"Safe?" He repeated. Rikki nodded, avoiding his gaze.

"From you." She stated quietly, causing Terry to lose the remaining control he had left over his temper. He grabbed Rikki by the throat and began to choke her. Rikki gasped for air and tried to push her fathers hands off of her. Rikki could feel herself begin to lose consciousness, but before Rikki could pass out, Terry loosened his grip on her neck and threw her now weakened body at the wall behind her. Rikki screamed as her back hit the wall and she fell to the floor. She began gasping for air as Terry walked back up to her. He grabbed her by the hair and dragged her across the room into the kitchen. Rikki screamed and cried, begging him to let her go but he ignored her. Once in the kitchen he dropped Rikki back onto the floor and walked over to a drawer. Rikki watched him pull out a knife and tears streamed down her face as he walked back over to her. He crouched down and grabbed her hair again, pulling her up into a sitting position so they would be at eye level. "Please." She begged.

"This is what you want, isn't it?" He asked, pure hatred in his eyes. Rikki shook her head in response. "You wanna be away from me?" He yelled.

"I don't. I wanna stay here. Please. I'll be good. I'll do whatever you want." She begged through her tears. Sobs racked her shaking body as he ran the knife down her left arm. Blood trailed it's way down her arm and Rikki weakly tried to push him away but he just tightened his grip on her hair, causing her head to jerk back. He stopped the knife at her wrist and began to cut a deeper wound then he had cut down the rest of her arm. Rikki screamed in pain as she continued to beg him to stop. Rikki thought she heard the sound of banging, but her hearing and sight quickly began to fade and she could barely hear the sound of her own screams anymore. She could feel the knife leave her wrist and her fathers grip on her loosen as everything went completely black.

Rikki slowly opened her eyes to find herself no longer on her kitchen floor. She looked around and realized she was lying in a hospital bed. She attempted to sit up but felt too weak to even move her arms. She noticed the remote attached to her bed and reached over for it. She clicked a button to call for a nurse, and within seconds her nurse was walking into her room.

"You're awake." The nurse noted, happily. Rikki stared at her confused.

"What am I doing here?" She asked, wondering why she wasn't dead right now.

"You're hurt." The nurse said, pointing to Rikki's arm. Her arm was covered in bandages, practically resembling a cast. "Your friend called an ambulance." She told her.

"Friend?" She asked even more confused. The nurse nodded and walked over to the door. She opened it and asked somebody to come in. Rikki was surprised to see Zane walk into the room. The nurse walked out, giving the two some privacy.

"How are you feeling?" Zane asked, sitting down on the chair at the side of her bed.

"Weak." She told him. "What happened?" She tried to sit up again. Noticing her struggling to sit up Zane helped her.

"You don't remember?" He asked once she was sitting up comfortably.

"I remember my dad cutting me, and then I guess I passed out." Rikki told him. "I should be dead." She stated. Zane could hear the fear in her voice as she said that.

"You nearly were." He told her. "I got there in time to stop him."

"How did you know where I lived?"

"I didn't. I figured you lived by the beach I ran into you on. The closest place to it was the trailer park so I started there." He began to explain. "I heard you screaming." He stated, trying to make a long story short. Rikki nodded, trying to absorb everything that's happened.

"Where is he?" She asked, sounding scared.

"I'm not sure." Zane told her. "He took off when he realized I had called the cops. I don't think they found him."

"You called the cops?" Rikki asked nervously. "You shouldn't have done that, he's gonna kill you." She told him, panicking.

"He's not going to kill me." Zane assured her, trying to calm her down.

"Yes he is! Look what he did to me and I'm his daughter."

"Why did you go back?" Zane asked, slightly changing the subject.

"I had to." She told him.

"You didn't have to."

"Yes I did. He called me, and he was saying all these mean things about me. I just wanted him to stop so I told him I'd come home." She said. Zane sighed, trying to understand why she would go back there.

"He was just trying to get to you, Rikki. He was manipulating you." Zane told her. Rikki's eyes filled up with tears.

"I know."

"Do you? Because you can't keep letting him do this." Rikki nodded in understanding.

"I won't." She agreed.

* * *

**To be continued...**

**See? I got this chapter up faster this time! I'm trying =). Nobody have a heart attack ;). Review please =)**


	10. Chapter 10

"_Please don't do this."_

"_Shut up!" He yelled at me. I screamed out in fear as he began beating me._

"_I'm sorry" I cried. He just laughed at me as he continued to punch and kick me onto the ground. I continued to beg him to stop but he refused, taking some kind of sick pleasure in my pain._

"_Rikki." I heard a voice call out. It wasn't his though. It seemed to be coming from a distance. "Rikki!" The voice said, sounding closer. I could feel a hand on my arm, shaking me. "Rikki!"_

"Rikki, wake up, you're having a nightmare." Zane's voice said, as Rikki quickly opened her eyes and sat up. She looked around the room in terror. She was back in the guest bedroom at Zane's house. She breathed a sigh of relief, realizing she had been dreaming. She turned her head to look at Zane, sitting next to her on her bed, concern evident in his eyes. "Are you okay?" He checked. Rikki nodded.

"It's strange. I never had nightmares living with him, but now he's nowhere near me and..." She trailed off. It had been two weeks since she had been in the hospital. Nobody had found or heard from Terry yet. It was as though he just disappeared. Rikki figured she should be relieved by that. Happy that he wasn't around to torment her anymore, but instead she was just sad. She couldn't believe how easy it was for him to just take off and leave her, without giving it a second thought. "I'm sorry I woke you up." She said, wanting to change the subject.

"I was already awake." Zane told her. Rikki looked up at him confused, before realizing it was already morning. She looked over at the window to see the sun was already up. "Uh...we should get ready for school." Zane said, knowing Rikki didn't wanna talk about her nightmare. Rikki nodded in agreement. Today was the first day since she had started staying at Zane's that she was going back to school. She had spent most of her time in bed allowing her body to heal for the past couple of weeks. The wound on the back of her head was basically closed up now, and her bruises had faded. She had a rather large scar on her wrist from the deep cut her father had given her. The wound down the rest of her arm, however, hadn't left such a noticeable scar since it wasn't as deep as the one on her wrist.

Zane had also missed the past two weeks of school, much to his own fathers dismay. He didn't want to leave Rikki alone in the house for so long, seeing as the first time he had done that she ended up leaving, and her father had nearly killed her. He figured it would be better to keep an eye on her for now, at least until he knew Terry was no longer a threat to her. Zane left the room, allowing Rikki to get ready for school. She walked over to the suit cases containing her clothes. Zane had went back to her house to get her stuff while she was in the hospital. She hadn't bothered to unpack any of it, however. She knew this living arrangement was only temporary, and didn't want to get too comfortable there. She pulled out a long sleeved shirt, to make sure her her wrist would be covered up and began to get dressed.

* * *

"Zane!" Miriam called out as she saw Zane and Rikki arrive at school. Seeing Miriam walking over to Zane, Rikki told Zane she'd see him later, before quickly making her way away from them. Zane was about to go stop her, but Miriam got to him first. "Where have you been?" Miriam asked, as she reached Zane.

"Home, Miriam." He replied in slight annoyance, as they began to walk into the school building.

"What were you doing with her?" She asked in a disapproving tone, staring after Rikki. "Zane?" She asked, when he didn't answer.

"We're friends." Zane explained, simply.

"Since when?" She asked, sounding shocked. Zane sighed.

"Since I decided to be friends with her."

"Why would you wanna be friends with that freak?" Miriam asked, causing Zane to stop and glare at her.

"Don't call her that!" Zane yelled at her angrily, causing several people around to stop and stare at them. Zane groaned in annoyance, deciding to just walk away.

* * *

"I don't think Miriam likes you sitting over here with me." Rikki noted to Zane, catching Miriam glaring over at them at lunch. Zane glanced over his shoulder to where Miriam was sitting before turning back to Rikki.

"Well, that's her problem." He told her. Rikki looked back over at Miriam. She seemed rather angry at the sight of Zane and Rikki together.

"Look, I don't wanna cause problems for you with your girlfriend." Rikki started, causing Zane to nearly choke on the sandwich he was eating. "So maybe you should just-"

"Whoa Whoa..." He interrupted. "You think Miriam is my girlfriend?" He asked, with a mix of shock and disgust in his voice. Rikki just stared at him. "She's not my girlfriend." He stated, seriously.

"Does she know that?" Rikki asked, raising her eyebrows. Zane shrugged, not really caring if Miriam had some delusion that they were dating. "Cause she's coming over here..."

"Zane!" Miriam said, sitting down next to him.

"What do you want, Miriam?" Zane asked in annoyance.

"What's with you?"

"What?" Zane asked, unsure what she was referring to.

"This. Her!" She said, pointing back and forth between him and Rikki. "You haven't been in school for two weeks, and now you come back and all of a sudden you're friends with this freak?" Rikki frowned, beginning to stand up.

"I should go.." She said.

"Yeah you should!" Miriam agreed, rudely.

"Miriam!" Zane exclaimed, angrily. "Rikki, wait." He began to stand up with her, but Miriam pulled his arm to make him sit back down.

"No go!" She told Rikki, who turned to leave.

"Would you knock it off?" Zane said, pulling out of Miriam's grasp and walking after Rikki. Miriam followed.

"No! Not until you explain why you wanna hang out with _her_ over me." She said, trying to keep up with him.

"Just let it go."

"No!" She exclaimed, but Zane just ignored her. She sighed and jumped in front of Rikki to stop her. "Fine then, Rikki you explain it. Why are you bothering Zane?"

"I'm not...I have to go..." Rikki said, trying to walk around Miriam.

"Don't walk away from me!" Miriam yelled, grabbing Rikki's arm to stop her. However as she grabbed her arm, Rikki's sleeve rode up revealing the scar on her wrist. Rikki quickly tried to cover her arm back up but Miriam had already seen it. She began laughing. "Oh, so that's it? You want some freak cutter?" She asked Zane, harshly. At that, Rikki turned and ran off, out of the building. Zane glared at Miriam.

"Are you happy now?" He yelled at her angrily. "Leave her alone!" He demanded. Miriam rolled her eyes at him.

"You're still choosing that freak over me? She cuts herself!" Miriam yelled the last part loud enough for everyone around them to hear.

"Miriam, why don't you do everyone a favor and stop talking about things you don't understand." He yelled back at her. "Better yet just stop talking, period." He stated, before leaving to go find Rikki.

"Are you okay?" Zane asked, once he found Rikki outside, sitting under a tree. He sat down next to her, but she turned away from him. Zane could tell she was crying, but didn't mention it.

"This isn't me." Rikki stated, wiping away the tears in her eyes. "I'm not this person who cries because some stupid girl says something mean to me. I don't know what's wrong with me." She said, sniffling as she continued to wipe at her eyes. Zane placed his hand on her back, trying to comfort her.

"Rikki, it's okay to cry." He assured her, but Rikki shook her head.

"No it isn't. My dad told me-"

"I don't care what your dad told you, because whatever it was he was wrong." He told her, knowing anything her dad told her was more then likely just something to hurt her.

"He told me" Rikki started again, ignoring his statements. "that my mom left because I cried over everything." She told him.

"You said she left because she and your dad were always fighting." He said, confused.

"That's part of it, I guess." She replied, turning to face him. Her eyes were red and watery, and there were tear stains down her cheeks. "When he got mad he'd throw things and punch walls, I got scared and I'd cry and she got tired of dealing with me."

"You told me before that she would always protect you when he got like that."

"She did, but she didn't want to anymore." Rikki told him, her voice cracking.

"Rikki, your mom loved you." Zane told her.

"How would you know?"

"I know." He stated matter-of-factly. "The way you talk about her, you said she protected you, why would she do that if she didn't care?" He asked, Rikki shrugged.

"She had to, I'm her daughter." She stated, trying to rationalize the situation.

"You're Terry's daughter to." Zane reminded her. "And he doesn't do those things for you. She loved you. He just wants you to blame her. He wants you to blame yourself for her leaving."

"If she cared she wouldn't have left me with him!" She said sounding angry. Not being able to control it anymore she broke down into uncontrollable tears. Zane wrapped his arms around her, as she cried in his chest. He rubbed her back soothingly, trying to calm her down. He didn't know whether or not he should ask her what's been on his mind, but found himself asking anyway.

"Are you sure she did?" He asked, all of a sudden. Rikki pulled away from him, still crying.

"What?" She asked, confused. Zane took a breath before continuing.

"Is it possible that she didn't leave?" He asked, and Rikki stared at him as though he had just grown another head.

"What are you talking about? I haven't seen her since I was ten." She told him. Zane nodded.

"I know that, but..." He trailed off, debating with himself whether he should continue or not.

"What?" She asked, not getting what he was trying to say. She wiped at her eyes again, trying to stop her tears from falling.

"Is it possible..." He paused, trailing off again. "...Is it possible that your father could have hurt her?" He asked. Rikki continued to stare at him in confusion.

"I don't understand..."

"You told me that you didn't know whether or not he hit her, too." He reminded her. Rikki shrugged her shoulders.

"So?"

"Do you think he could have killed her?" He asked, bluntly, not knowing how else to say it. Rikki was taken aback by that. She stared at him, half expecting him to tell her he was joking. When she realized he was serious, she shot up on her feet, shaking her head vigorously.

"No! Of course not!" She told him. Zane stood up after her. She could feel her body begin to shake in shock at what he was accusing.

"Rikki." He said, grabbing hold of her shoulders, trying to get her to stop shaking.

"No! Zane. He wouldn't do that." She tried to assure him.

"He wouldn't? Cause he didn't seem to have any problem a couple weeks ago when he was about to kill you." He argued, in a harsher tone then he intended. Rikki pushed his hands away from her shoulders, taking a step back from him.

"No, you're wrong!" She yelled. "He didn't kill me, I'm right here!"

"Because I stopped him." He reminded her.

"How do you know? He would have stopped! He was just trying to teach me a lesson. I left and didn't tell him, I deserved that." She rambled to him. Zane sighed, taking a step closer to her but Rikki just backed away from him again.

"Rikki, you didn't deserve this. What do I have to do to get through to you?"

"Get through to me, what?" She asked angrily. "You wanna get through to me that my father is a murderer? That my mother is dead? You don't know that, okay? You don't know anything!" She yelled, as she began to cry again.

"I didn't mean to upset you like this." Zane told her, apologetically. Rikki scoffed.

"You didn't mean to upset me?" She asked, glaring at him. "You tell me that you believe my father killed my mother and then you say you didn't mean to upset me?" She yelled.

"I'm sorry." He told her, sincerely.

"You're wrong." She stated, her tone of voice sound calmer. Zane nodded.

"I hope I am." He told her.

"You're wrong." She said again, her body shaking uncontrollably.

"Rikki?" He said, concerned with how much she was shaking. He walked closer to her and held her arms, trying to calm her down. "Rikki."

"You're wrong." She repeated again, more quietly.

"Rikki." He said again, but she didn't respond to him.

"You're wrong." She just continued to repeat.


	11. Chapter 11

**I am SO sorry that I haven't updated in forever! Really really sorry. I know you're probably getting sick of hearing/reading that, but I am. I know how annoying it is to be waiting for chapter updates and I hate that I'm the cause of that this time! And I don't blame you if you've given up on this story! I had a bit of writers block. But enough of my excuses. I PROMISE that I will try much much harder to update much much sooner. I know I've said that before but this time I mean it. Promise!**

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"Feel any better?" Zane asked, entering Rikki's room. He had taken Rikki back home after he managed to calm her down a bit. She just remained seated on the bed, not responding, not even looking at him. "I'm sorry I upset you earlier." He apologized, sitting down next to her.

"I don't understand." Rikki said, quietly.

"Understand what?" He asked confused.

"Everything." She stated. "How could someone treat their own child like this? Why can't he just love me?" She asked, desperately trying to fight back the tears in her eyes. Zane placed his arm around her shoulders, comfortingly, wishing he could answer that for her. "How can it be so easy for him to hurt me like this?"

"I don't know." He responded honestly. "but he can't hurt you anymore, Rikki." He assured her.

"He still hurts me." She stated. "Everyday."

"What do you mean?"

"He doesn't even care that he just left without me. He doesn't care about where I am. He doesn't even know whether or not I'm alive or if I died in that hospital because of him!" Rikki exclaimed angrily, standing up. Her voice got louder with each word to the point where she was now yelling. "I keep seeing him. Every time I close my eyes. He could be a million miles away by now and I still can't get rid of him! For all I know he's just gonna pop up all of a sudden and take me away again!" She exclaimed, and Zane could hear the sadness in her voice quickly turn to fear.

"That's not gonna happen." Zane assured her, but Rikki didn't believe him.

"How could you possibly know that?"

"Because I won't let it." He told her. "Rikki, you're safe now, I promise you, I'm not gonna let him hurt you again."

"Nobody...Nobodies ever cared before." She admitted, turning away as she felt her cheeks heat up.

"I care."

"Why?" She asked, turning back to him.

"Why?" He repeated, unsure what she meant.

"Yeah, why do you care? You don't even know me. You could have just let me sit there at the beach never bothering to stop. Why did you?" She asked. Zane, however, wasn't so sure what to say.

"You were upset..." He tried to explain. Rikki let out a sarcastic chuckle.

"A lot of people get upset, do you make all of them your charity cases too?" She asked, beginning to sound defensive.

"You're not a charity case." He told her, feeling a bit angry that she would think that.

"Right." She replied, scoffing.

"Would you stop putting yourself down so much!"

"Why? it's true." She told him, fully believing that she was nothing but a charity case to him.

"It's not true, Rikki. You're dad put these things into your head. When are you gonna start seeing the good things about yourself?"

"What good things?"

"What good things?" He repeated her question, astonished that she would ask that. "Well I don't know, perhaps that you're a good person." He told her, Rikki just rolled her eyes in response so he continued. "Or that you're smart" He added, receiving yet another eye roll. "and beautiful."

"Beautiful?" Rikki asked, taken aback that he'd use that word to describe her.

"Of course."

"I'm not..." She replied sadly.

"You're kidding, right?" Zane asked, slightly in shock that she'd think differently. Rikki just frowned, avoiding his gaze. Zane frowned, realizing she wasn't kidding. "Hey." He said, trying to gain her attention. He gently placed his hand under her chin, bringing her head up so she'd be looking into his eyes. "You're beautiful." He stated, sincerely. Rikki felt herself begin to smile, causing Zane to smile back at her. "That's the first time I've seen you do that." He noted. Rikki turned her head away in embarrassment.

"Do you really think my mother is dead?" She asked, obviously changing the subject.

"I don't know. It just crossed my mind.. Have you ever thought that it could be a possibility?"

"No. He said she left." She told him. Zane had an urge to roll his eyes at that, but resisted.

"He said a lot of things to you that were untrue, Rikki." He reminded her.

"But he wasn't like that back then." She argued, becoming defensive once again.

"You said you didn't know for sure."

"I didn't but if he did hit her, if it was so bad that he was gonna murder her then wouldn't I have noticed?"

"Not if you didn't want to..."

"What does that mean?" She asked, confused.

"Maybe you were in denial. Maybe you intentionally avoided finding out for sure." He explained. Rikki stared at him, knowing that he could be right. Though, she still didn't wanna accept it. A million thoughts were racing through Rikki's mind at the moment. She accepted a long time ago that her mother abandoned her. With that came feelings of resentment and even hatred towards her mother. How could she live with herself when she felt that way when her mother was dead all along, she thought. When she never abandoned her at all? And what if Zane was wrong? Giving her hope that her mother would have stayed with her if she could only to find out that he was wrong and have to deal with being abandoned all over again? No, Rikki thought. She refused to let herself believe him.

"I wasn't in denial, okay? She left." She stated, not wanting to discuss it anymore.

"Rikki-" Zane began, but she quickly cut him off.

"No, Zane!" she objected. "You're wrong! He wouldn't have done that. He wouldn't kill her! She did this, okay? She left! There's not some underlying reason for everything. Sometime people just leave." She yelled at him, forcing herself not to start crying again.

"You were a little girl." He told her. He knew he should get off the subject, seeing how upset she was getting but he couldn't stop thinking about it.

"So?" She asked, not knowing what that had to do with anything.

"So, what little girl wants to find out that her father is a monster?"

"He's not a monster." She replied immediately, almost as a reflex.

"Rikki, you need to stop defending him."

"How?" She asked, mentally cursing herself as she felt tears begin to roll down her face, again. Zane didn't know how to answer her question. How do you tell someone that they should hate their own father? Instead he reached his hand up to her face, gently wiping away her tears. His hand lingered on her cheek as his eyes met hers. He could see so much pain and sadness in them. Wishing he could take it all away, he stepped closer to her. He moved his hand to brush her hair off of her face, as he leaned his head closer to her. He gently pressed his lips to hers. Rikki briefly began to return the kiss, until gently pushing him away.

"I'm sorry" Zane apologized, immediately, assuming she didn't want him to kiss her.

"Don't be." She assured him. "I just..."

"It's okay, I understand." "It's okay. You don't feel like that."

"It's not that I don't it's just that this seems kind of sudden." She told him, honestly. "I mean one minute we're talking about my dad and the next..." She trailed off. "I just didn't think you thought of me that way."

"You're the only thing I've thought about since we've met, Rikki" He told her, taking her by surprise.

"Really?" She asked, being all she could manage to say that the moment. Zane just simply nodded, stepping closer to her.

"Really." He confirmed. Rikki smiled, as Zane began to lean his head closer to hers, kissing her again. Though this time she didn't push him away.

* * *

A car sat parked outside of Zane's house. The driver, sat watching Zane and Rikki through her bedroom window. The curtains were open so he had a clear view of the majority of the room from where he was parked. Hatred and anger took over his features as he witnessed the two share a kiss. Not wanting to see anymore he started up the car and began to drive off. "Have fun while you can, Rikki." He said, thinking out loud. "I'll be back." He gave one last glance to the house before turning off the street and driving away.


End file.
